Chapter 28

Chapter 28

‘I don’t like her.’ Jennie knows she sounds unprofessional, but can’t resist sharing her personal opinion as they drive back to White Cross. ‘She withheld information relevant to the case in 1994, and she would’ve done it again today if we hadn’t pressured her.’

‘Just because you don’t like her, it doesn’t make her a murderer,’ says Zuri, evenly, as she indicates right and takes them around yet another roundabout on their route out of Milton Keynes.

‘I know that,’ says Jennie, glancing out of the window as they pass Stadium MK. ‘But it makes me suspicious not just of Edwards, but of her too.’

Zuri says nothing, concentrating on the unfamiliar road layout as they pass a huge Asda and IKEA superstore and cross more roundabouts, taking them out towards Bletchley and the A5 beyond.

Pulling out her phone, Jennie messages Martin, telling him to bring in Duncan Edwards and seize his computer and phone. ‘I’m having Edwards brought in. He totally bullshitted us about his relationship with Hannah. We need to let him know we’re onto him and push him harder.’

‘No matter how much of a dick he is, he’s got an alibi,’ says Zuri. ‘He can’t be Hannah’s killer.’

‘Not necessarily. Angela Totley might have given Edwards an alibi for the time Hannah went missing, but she’s also got one hell of a reason for wanting Hannah gone. They could have been in on it together.’

Zuri shakes her head. ‘I don’t see it.’

‘But it has to be Edwards,’ says Jennie, not wanting to think about what the alternative means. ‘He could have killed her because—’

‘There’s something off about the darkroom crew,’ says Zuri firmly as she takes the turn off another roundabout onto the A5. ‘Rob Marwood might have been ruled a suicide but that doesn’t mean he or one of the others can’t be guilty. Elliott Naylor certainly seemed to get more defensive in his latest interview.’

Even though she has her own nagging suspicions, Jennie doesn’t like Zuri suggesting her old schoolfriends are in the frame for Hannah’s murder. She bristles. ‘Never go behind my back again.’

For a moment Zuri looks confused, then she blushes deeply as she realises what Jennie’s referring to. But her expression remains serious. ‘I didn’t. I was updating the whiteboard in the incident room. The DCI saw me in there and asked for a catch-up.’

‘So you told him I took a picture of the darkroom crew and made out like it was a huge deal?’ says Jennie. ‘I took pictures of a lot of people at that school. My A level art project was a photography collection.’

‘I didn’t tell him it was anything,’ says Zuri, frowning. ‘But I couldn’t not tell him.’

Jennie shakes her head. She’s not especially close to any of the team, but she considers Zuri a friend as well as a colleague. In addition to their film dates, they’ve had dinner from time to time when one of them needed a sympathetic listener. Zuri had been really kind when Jennie’s mum died. So telling the DCI about the photo feels like a betrayal, even though Jennie knows that Zuri was just doing her job as DS. ‘I thought we were friends. If you had a problem, you should have talked to me first.’

Zuri stays silent. She takes a turn off the A5 onto the road that will take them all the way back to White Cross.

‘If you have a problem, tell me about it, okay?’ says Jennie, frustrated.

‘Fine,’ says Zuri. ‘I don’t have a problem with you personally, Jennie, but I’m sorry, I do have a problem with you leading this case. You clearly knew the victim and it’s having an impact. It’s a conflict of interest.’

‘Yes, I did know her. I was at the same school, in the same year. The DCI knew that, and I told you all in the initial briefing,’ says Jennie, trying to get Zuri back on-side. She hates feeling estranged from her. She hates it even more that she has to be so economical with the truth.

Zuri glances at her. There’s frustration on her face but concern too. ‘You’ve not been yourself since we started this investigation.’

‘I’m just a bit tired from trying to sort out my mum’s place,’ counters Jennie.

‘No, it’s more than that. Your focus is off and it’s screwing up the case. You’re hell-bent on Paul Jennings or Duncan Edwards being the killer when there are far more discrepancies in the statements made by Hannah’s mates. I don’t get why you’re acting so blinkered. It’s like I care way more than you do.’

No you don’t.

Jennie looks away, staring out of the window at the fields flashing past as she struggles to hold back the emotion that’s threatening to overwhelm her. In her mind’s eye she sees Hannah’s remains half-buried in the mud in the school basement, Rob’s body swinging from the rope in White Cross woods, then Hannah twirling in the same woodland clearing, alive and happy with everything to live for.

Zuri’s got great instincts, but she’s wrong about one thing. She doesn’t care more than her about this case. Not by a long way.

Not about Hannah.